Zion National Park

After a couple of days at the Grand Canyon, Anne and I drove up to Utah to visit Zion National Park today. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with blue skies, still air, and temps in the low 60s, so we did our best to take full advantage of it. We had a nice hike at the south end before lunch, and here are some of the critters we saw.

This first one was a huge treat for me, and the National Park Service suggests that it is a plateau lizard (Sceloporus tristichus).

We could hear a couple canyon wrens, but they kept out of sight, and this Woodhouse’s scrub jay put on a nice show for us instead.

After lunch, we drove up to the north end, where the canyon narrows, and the roadway ends. From there we continued along the river on foot, and this rock squirrel appeared to be out sunning itself on a bolder overlooking the river while ignoring the stream of tourists trudging up and down the trail behind it.

I was quite surprised to find a hermit thrush, just like the ones we see in Estabrook Park, but here it is.

The canyon wrens were even more plentiful than in the morning, and this one finally showed its darling little face.

Finally, as we headed back south on our way out of the park, mule deer seemed to be everywhere along the river, and this one was kind enough to wish us a safe journey home.